Mauie Flores

There’s a new girl turning heads all over town – but for all the wrong reasons. Meet Maria. She’s a fun and bubbly young woman whose sparkling personality is masked by a somber feature – under-eye circles. Maria’s tireless quest to get rid of her uncharacteristic eye bags drives her to try out ridiculous solutions and lands her in hilarious situations. (If only she tried Garnier Eye Roll-on first! She would’ve had brighter eyes without all the hassle.)

See more of her hilarious antics here:

• http://www.rollinbrightness.com/garnier/video_spoonfail.php

• http://www.rollinbrightness.com/garnier/video_eyemaskfail.php

But the laughs don’t end there; everyone can join in on the fun at rollinbrightness.com. You can view examples of serious problems and ridiculous solutions and post your own experience for a chance to win goodies from Garnier. Even better, you can spread the gift of brightness with your friends. Simply click on www.rollinbrightness.com/garnier/share.php to share a coupon for 25% off on the Garnier Eye Roll-On the #1 Eye Care Product in the Philippines. Take care!

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Last December 14, 2009, I was invited to be a part of a group of bloggers who visited Glowcal Manufacturing Corporation's factory here in Cainta. Glowcal is the maker of KSA Magic and other beauty products such as Kojic and Sutla. The event was also an intimate meet-and-greet with KSA Magic's celebrity endorser, Ms. Gladys Reyes.


Ms. Reyes spoke about how KSA Magic products keep her skin smooth and flawless. She's really pretty and flawless, as you can see in the photo above. She's sweet and charming, too.

She and Glowcal Manufacturing Corp. owner, Ms. Elizabeth F. Perez de Tagle, introduced us to the real deal about KSA Magic. KSA Magic soaps are manufactured through the cold process method. Soaps made using the cold process method are better than the commercially-manufactured soaps because they retain the herbal extract oils and glycerin added to it. Glycerin is the ingredient that is vital in keeping moisture in the skin therefore maintaining its softness and suppleness. Plus, cold processed soaps do not need chemicals in order for them to maintain a longer shelf life.




As you can see, KSA Magic is made with all-natural herbal extracts from lemons, calamansi, and coconuts.


Special thanks to Iris of Pinay Ads for inviting us to this event. Please visit the Glowcal corporate website for more information about KSA Magic and business opportunities with Glowcal Manufacturing Corporation's products. You can also read more about the event from these posts:

• 'KSA Magic Skin Care' Unveils New Products
• Discover The Magic of KSA Magic Skin Care
• KSA Magic Products
• Merry Christmas From KSA Magic

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Finally! I redeemed my Starbucks 2010 planner from The Podium branch last night. My 17 cups are all worth it! I love its every page. And because my husband allowed me to collect stickers for this planner, I gave him my tiny Moleskine planner to show my gratitude.



Doesn't it look nice? I chose Cherry since I remembered that I joined Maver's Starbucks planner contest and I indicated that I prefer Espresso if ever I win. After this one, I think I'm gonna try to collect stickers for another planner. Have I become a coffee addict now? Uh-oh, I guess somebody ought to buy me a jura capresso!

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When my college friends and I had dinner the other night, the girls kidded me about my Yahoo Messenger status. You see, everyday, it's always set as BUSY. I sure am busy especially these past few months. The writing projects kept pouring in and I gladly accepted them all. I had to sacrifice the times a spent in a day playing my Facebook games. Awww....

When I'm writing, what I do usually is to play in between articles. Playing makes my mind relaxed and it kinda releases the extra information I have stored from the previous article's research process. It refreshes my mind and makes it ready to take in more information. As far as I know, when my mind gets overloaded with information, I am less productive. That's why I need to unload information in between writing tasks.

Now that I'm too busy, my information unloading activity is constricted to walking for a minute or gazing out of my window. I miss my farm in Farm Town and Farm Ville! I want to know if there are new items like pond supplies or not. I want to milk my pink cow to get strawberry milk. But everything has to be prioritized so all I can do is wait until I have lesser work load. Such is the life of a work-at-home mom. Hay!

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I had dinner with my college friends last night and I had a good time. After dinner, a friend of mine asked us to go out of the mall area so that she can smoke. You know, back in college, she was the one who doesn't smoke. It was even I who tried smoking back then. Yes, I did even if I knew that I can't.

But the vice did not stay long with me. I guess I did not get too much stressed out over the years unlike my friend who went to law school and through the bar exams. Smoking and diabetics just don't mix. One reason is that as diabetics, we are already 3x more at risk in developing cardiovascular diseases than non-diabetics. With smoking, the risk is increased to 11 times! Another fact is that the nicotine content in cigarettes reduce the body's ability to use insulin by fifteen percent.

If I want to die now, all I need to do is order cigars online or buy from a store. But I don't so I'm staying away from it. If you're diabetic, you should not be smoking, too.

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I haven't done mine yet and Christmas is just nine days away! I'm in utter panic mode. I'm too swamped with work but I don't have the right to complain about these additional blessings, right? I'm going to start my Christmas shopping this weekend. Good luck to me and my gift recipients, har har har!

You know, shopping really is not much of a fun activity for me. I'd rather spend my time somewhere else that is not as crowded. But Christmas shopping and the crowd that goes with it are inevitable requirements of this season so I'd better comply. I'll just wear my comfy new Crocs so I can walk and walk for hours. By the way, I'm looking for a Naot shoes seller here in the country. These pairs are like Crocs but are much comfy and recommendable for diabetic feet. Let me know if you have recommendations.

Till next post!

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When I bought my laptop in March, it came bundled with a Norton Anti Virus trial software that got me covered for free for 90 days. After that, I was prompted to buy a licensed version which I did not do for obvious reasons. One is that I find it too expensive to buy when I can opt to find a free anti virus software instead. My initial step was to download the latest free version of AVG but most of my blogger friends recommended that I switch to Avira. I did and, so far, I think it's doing good for me.

Other than the price, there are also other points I consider in looking for an antivirus software. Here are just some of them:

• It should be light so as not to slow down the performance of my laptop;
• It should also be an anti-spyware;
• It should be able to scan, detect, and remove rootkits;
• It should be able to detect threats from downloaded email; and
• It should be able to scan, detect, and remove malware.

Did I miss out on some things? I'll appreciate if you have more tips to add. :)

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It's official. My husband is as sick as me and my boy now. He started having the sniffles just as this past week ended. The late night parties plus the bad weather must have taken its toll on his health. My cough worsened and is going for two weeks now. I think I need to take antibiotics now like my son. We're always like this every December. The weather is crazy is to blame, really.

I stocked up on fruits and multivitamins the last time I did my groceries. I want to do everything I can to help our immune systems fight sickness. We also went back to buying distilled water rather than just relying on our water filter. I think I've done almost everything for my boys except for myself because I often work late nights. Then again, it's frustrating when family members get sick. Are there more measures to do?

Speaking of water filters, I never knew that refrigerators can have water filters. I was doing my research for a product review the other day and I read about MWF filters. This is one of the things I am thankful for when I'm writing, I get to learn more things every day.

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The two industrial fans that we bought in 2006 are now starting to conk out and I'm getting frustrated. I thought industrial fans are supposed to be more durable than the less expensive plastic ones. The industrial fans are being used in the living room and in the dining room. Every time I try to use one, I need to get a fork to wind up its blades first to get it to move. Funny but totally frustrating, really.

I am thinking of buying a new fan but I won't waste my time in buying an industrial fan anymore. I think I'll buy the ones with plastic blades this time. At least they are easier to clean, lighter to carry, and are more affordable. It's a pity that I can't even have a Minka Aire ceiling fan because the ceiling in my living room is low. I'm left with no other option but to buy a standfan.

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My husband called me up to tell me that we have to use the Mandarin Oriental voucher he's keeping before it expires by the end of the year. I felt excited even if the hotel is just within the heart of Makati. I'm excited because it's a chance for the three of us to spend the night again in a place other than our home. I believe the last time we were able to do that was back in the summer. I'm sure Rap will be elated, too.

Now I'm thinking of activities to do in Makati while we're there. Or probably we'll just hang around in Greenbelt till the wee hours and go back to the hotel when it's sleeping time. It will be just like sleeping over at a friend's house!

It's always fun to spend moments like this one with my boys. I know it's not as grand as getting booked in one of the nuevo vallarta hotels but it's not the place that's important. What I'm really excite about is the bonding time I'll get to have with my boys.

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I didn't even notice that this blog has already achieved PR3. When I started blogging in 2005, all I intended was to have venue to write about my daily experiences. And when I bought my own domain, it was just to achieve a personal dream of having my own dot com.

So a few days ago, I received an email from an American who wanted to hire me to write for a blog he was setting up for his website. He specifically instructed me to write blog posts that will give his blog PR3 rank just like mine. That's when I discovered that my blog already has a PR3 ranking.

I was ecstatic and surprised at the same time. After that, I was like "So, what now?" I can't see any more advantages beyond having the badge to brag about it. It appears that online marketers need to be most searchable in search engines or have the highest page rank possible for them to profit from their products. They employ search engine optimization specialists to generate profitable keywords and submit their sites to site directories. Some buy a software dedicated to automatically submit their sites to directories like what http://onewaytextlink.com has.

I politely declined the job offer and honestly told the email sender that my page rank is just a coincidence and may be the result of my 400+ blog posts. I know I can't promise his newly started blog to have a PR3 ranking two months just like how he wants to.

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When I go malling at SM Megamall, I dare not walk the corridors of 5th floor Bldg. A. It's because I don't want to pass by the area of Family First. They have agents there who lure the unaware to sign up for a "raffle" and go to their office for a "seminar". Club Astoria agents employ the same scheming tactic.

My aunt-in-law and wedding godmother was tricked into signing up for a Club Astoria timeshare membership program. She and my mother-in-law attended a "buffet dinner" cum seminar in Naga City where they were told about the perks of having a Club Astoria membership. My Tita Ops is a retiree, you see. She can travel anytime she wants to. So she thought that having a timeshare program with a hotel would be a wise investment.

So, after the dinner, the details of the timeshare program was explained to them. She was enticed by their tricky agents and became interested in signing up for a 30-year membership. However, she wasn't that decided yet as she was just interested in knowing more about the program.

After being explained to, one of the agents asked for her credit card and told her that they will just check on her credit status. She vehemently instructed them not to charge anything to her card but the Club Astoria people immediately charged 65 thousand pesos to her credit card. My tita's fault was that she signed the receipt. While we were talking to each other on the phone the following day after the incident, she related how she felt like being hypnotized by the agents. It was like "Budol-Budol" so she said. Thank goodness that her credit limit is worth 65 thousand pesos only or else these monsters could have charged the whole 100 thousand peso deposit on her card. My Tita is a senior citizen and is single. She was made confused by the agents who kept on talking non-stop.

The following day, when she called us up, we instructed her to go to her bank and change her credit card number. She also cancelled the contract she apparently signed. The bad news is, Club Astoria will only refund 45 thousand pesos and keep the 20 thousand peso "reservation fee". My tita's charging it to experience. Damn these scheming demons for taking advantage of an old innocent lady. That's part of her hard-earned retirement money so I bet they'll go to hell.

I have nothing negative about time share programs. My mom is a member of Pearl of the Pacific in Boracay and we have been using our privileges ever since. It's like staying in myrtle beach condos except that Pearl of the Pacific Boracay is not a condo. In fairness, Club Astoria is a legal business. The hotel is located in Ortigas, Pasig, and they have resorts in Boracay, Bohol, and Subic. I see nothing ugly about their accommodations and rates. What bugs me, on the other hand, is the manner of recruiting these Club Astoria agents are using. Try Googling "club astoria scam" and you'll see what I mean. So beware people, don't tell me I didn't warn you.

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Laptops are out, netbooks are in. I saw this line from one online seller. Netbooks have become so popular this year that every computer brand his its own line of netbook series.

Before we bought my Lenovo Y330 in March this year, I was thinking of buying a netbook. First, my budget was only within the price range of netboooks. Second, I wanted a laptop that's light to carry when I'm mobile. My husband rejected the idea and offered to buy the laptop for me. He insisted that I needed a laptop more since my work is online. He said that a netbook will not be able to handle the bulk of my online work and that my computing activities will be too limited.

Now that I think about it, I thank him for proving his point. I got to realize what he meant more when I won a netbook in a blogging contest last August. Yes, netbooks have limited features. That's why we ended up giving the netbook to our son. I get to use it only when I'm away from home and I need to be online. Still, when I need to bring work with me to a coffee shop while doing mommy errands, I still bring my Lenovo.

Take this from me: netbooks are smaller, lighter, and more inexpensive but they are more suited for Internet surfing and light computing activities. It's good for a second laptop or if you already have a PC at home. Go for the laptop if you need to have bigger hard disk space, bigger memory capacity, and a DVD drive.

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You have seen her already but I haven't properly introduced her yet. Ms. D is our new Nikon D5000. My boys have thought of a lot of names before we finally settled on calling her as such. Yes, it's a she. Short of saying that I'm more of the owner than my husband, hahaha!

I'm still a newbie in DSLR photography but I started to read some tips on DSLR photography sites. Up to now, my shots are still amateurish but I now have quite a few that can be considered good. I'll attend my first photography class next weekend while my boy's on a school camping activity. Hopefully, my photography skills will be better after that.

A photographer friend once said, "It's the Indian, not the arrow." Meaning to say that it's the skill and not the gadget. Still, DSLR cameras have advantages compared to point and shoot digital cameras. With DSLR cameras, the photographer has the free hand on setting the right shutter speed, aperture, and exposure to come up with the effect that he or she wants.

I'm going to update you on how my lessons will go next weekend. For now, I'm leaving you with one of my few good shots. I'd be glad to read your thoughts about it.

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It's just five months and a couple of days away from the May 2010 elections here in the country. Have you already made up your mind on the candidate that you will support? Honestly, I've been fickle-minded lately especially now that there are more debates being televised. This is my first election-related post and I am not writing about my candidate yet. I will still need more time to think about who to root for this coming elections.

In the process of discernment, I discovered a site that helped me know the candidates more. This site is Politicalarena.com. Together with PPCRV, COMELEC, and Youth Vote Philippines, it aims to promote voter education through online social interaction. Politicalarena.com operates under the network of 88db.com, the Philippines’ first rich media service portal.


In this site, members can browse through each candidate's profile and scrutinize their platform of governance. They can also post questions regarding political issues and other concerns. They can also interact with other users in the political forum. In fact, I got too engaged in an infrastructure thread that I immediately wrote what I felt about the issue.


I think I'll be frequenting the site more as election day gets nearer. I already have a candidate in mind and I already pledged my support for him by clicking the I SUPPORT YOU BUTTON. Should I change my mind as the days go by, I can always click the WITHDRAW SUPPORT button. Voting for our next leader is a big responsibility so it is always helpful to have an open-mind and a listening ear to what others have to offer.

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